FAQs: Record Information

For any record titles associated with large amounts of food, our Record Guidelines stipulate that it must either be consumed or distributed for consumption after it has been measured. As with all record titles, the Record Guidelines must be adhered to in order to be considered a successful Guinness World Records title.

The individual who holds the most Guinness World Records titles is Mr. Ashrita Furman. He is attempting and breaking records all the time, but at last count he had more than 191 current Guinness World Records titles! Those include the records for long-distance pogo-stick jumping, most glasses balanced on the chin, most hop-scotch games in 24 hours and fastest time to pogo-stick up the CN Tower. Ashrita has inspired many people, and there is a growing number of prolific record holders nowadays.

Some of the most frequently broken records include the Longest DJ marathon, the Heaviest item lifted with glue and the Most apples bobbed in one minute! Another record that is broken regularly is the Oldest person in the world, but the oldest person ever remains Jeanne Louise Calment who lived to be an incredible 122 years and 164 days old.

For new record ideas please note that Guinness World Records only recognises WORLD records. We do not verify national / country specific achievements.

All Guinness World Records record titles must fulfill key criteria including:

Measurable - Is it the fastest / longest / heaviest / most?

Breakable - Can the record be broken or repeated by someone else? All our record titles must be open to being challenged.

Standardisable - Can the record title be done universally? For example, it cannot be related to something restricted to a region.

Verifiable - Can the claim be proven? For example, a claim such as ‘the man who never drank water’, can never be verified unless the man spent his whole life from birth under surveillance by a witness.

One Variable – We can verify the largest painting but would not consider the largest painting by the most people.

Universal - The proposal must be something, or about something that is known to the world’s majority. It cannot be too specific / regional.

Substantially different from a current record - If your record suggestion is similar to something we already have, we will ask you to break the current record rather than approving a variation of the same title.

Guinness World Records has an expertly trained Records Management Team who undertake substantial research and verification checks to confirm whether a new record title has been achieved.

When you submit an application for a new record title, Records Category Specialists carefully assess it to confirm whether or not your proposal can be accepted. When you submit your evidence for a new or existing title, the Records Management Team will run comprehensive checks on this evidence to confirm whether it is sufficient enough to demonstrate that you have achieved the record title in question.

If you are submitting an application, it is important that you provide us with as much information as possible, including:

What you want to achieve

How, where and why you want to achieve it

Any links that may help our team to understand your proposal.

During the application process you will be able to search our entire database of records and find out if we already have a record matching your idea and what the target to beat is.

If your proposal for a new title is accepted, or if you are applying for an existing title, you will receive your guidelines to attempt the record; it is important that you read these and the evidence check list pack carefully, and document all requested evidence. This is so our team can assess all evidence provided and verify whether your attempt has been successful.

It is also important that you ask any questions well in advance of any record attempt. This is to ensure we have time to respond, as it can take up to 2 weeks for us to get back to you. If your application has been accepted, you will be able to send all correspondence via your online account directly to your records manager.

Visit our Guide to Evidence page to get an idea of the evidence you need to provide as part of your record attempt.

If you are interested in breaking a record, or want to find out if your idea can be a record, please register and make an application. During the application process you will be able to search our entire database of records and find out if we already have a record matching your idea and what the target to beat is.